Information about books for Children/Tweens/YA, with a little bit of writing thrown in. Explore new books. Discover new authors. Uncover pieces of an author's life. All with a focus on getting Young Readers to read and write more.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes Young Adult author Maria DeVivo. She is also a fellow teacher. I love meeting author/teachers!

First, a bit about Maria:

Maria DeVivo is a New York native who has had a lifelong love affair with "the pen." A graduate of St. John's University with a BA in English Literature, she has a passion for all things mystical and mythological. She has taught 7th grade Language Arts since 2000.

Having grown up in a large Irish/Italian family (where Maria is the oldest child, and of course, the wisest) the mystery and wonder surrounding the holidays were a main staple of her upbringing. At the age of seven, when her mother finally admitted "the truth" to her, she has become somewhat of a "Santa-phile", an obsession that has rooted its way into every fiber of her being. Maria is one of those people who cries when Santa makes His grand appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Maria now lives in Florida with her husband, Joe, and daughter, Morgan. When not teaching or writing or running around after her daughter, she enjoys drinking iced coffee, watching horror movies, and playing video games.

Why did you pick to write books for YA readers?

It’s something that I relate to on a daily basis. As a 7th grade English teacher—15 years and counting!—I’m exposed to all kinds of YA lit. It just felt like a natural thing for me to do.

What types of books do you like to read?

I’m very selective when I read. Lately I’ve been into non-fiction, true crime novels like “Fatal Vision” by Joe McGinnis. I like horror. I like gritty, dark, morbid. But I think I’m so desensitized to it though, that I’m always chasing that next level of disgusting-ness, or I’m searching for something that will absolutely shock my socks off. Haven’t found it yet….

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

Mom, teacher, wife. My life is pretty jam packed. I love photography and digital editing. I’ll play a video game with my husband now and then. Scrapbooking. When I’m not writing, I’m always plotting, so there’s always bits and pieces of stories consuming my brain.

Tell us about The Coal Elf and how the story came to be.

The Coal Elf came about in 2004 when I was teaching at a Catholic school in NY. My 7th graders were having their Christmas party, and I wore a black velvet Santa Claus hat. They all said that I looked like a bad elf, and I replied that I was going to bring them coal in their stocking! It clicked from there. There was a legend about coal in naughty kids’ stockings, but I wanted to explore that story further. Thus, The Coal Elf was born!

Here's a peek at The Coal Elf:

Ember Skye is a fed up teenage Coal Elf with a big ashy chip on her
shoulder. Having been torn away from a carefree life and forced into a
world of dirt and darkness has started to get the best of her. And being
the only girl-elf working as a coal miner at the North Pole doesn’t
help much either!

Then there’s Sturd: a power-hungry, twisted elf with a checkered past
and a serious grudge against Ember. Slowly but surely, his maniacal
tendencies are revealed, leaving Ember with the sacred “Naughty List”
literally in her lap.

When a mysterious illness threatens to decimate elves both Above and
Underground, Ember is thrust into a journey that will see her confront
the literal and figurative demons of her past and lead her to the head
of the North Pole himself.

Yes! Santa is real. But this isn’t your childhood Christmas tale!Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

I’m currently working on three series right now – all planned trilogies. Can’t really say much about plot lines and all that, but they involve elves, zombies, and angels.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

I plan to finish out my three trilogies. With work and everything else in my life, I’m pretty much dedicated to one novel a year, so the next 4 years are set in stone for me. After that, I have ideas to branch out in different territories. Might dabble in some MG, and I have an adult thriller that’s been poking at the back of my brain that I just might have pay attention to! What advice do you have for other authors?

Thick skin. Grow one and wear it proudly. If you want to seriously get anywhere in this business and you don’t have one, you are in for a RUDE awakening. Be humble. Be open to suggestions. Anything else you want readers to know?

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Carpinello's Writing Pages is back this Hop with more tips from the
Children's, Middle Grade, and Young Adult writers I've interviewed.
These are from September and October 2014. Feel free to leave a tip of your
own.

Read and write! That’s the most important thing to do. There’s only one
way to get better at writing and that’s to write, but I’ve found
reading can help you understand where you have weaknesses as well.
Secondly, get help. Don’t assume that what you’ve written is good, just
based on your own opinion—Michael Selden, author of The Boy Who Ran.

The best advice I could give to other authors is to write what you love.
Do not let anyone dictate what you should be writing. Only you and your
muse know what is best for you. No matter how silly or simple or
frightening the thoughts are inside your head, trust your muse and write
them down. Who knows your break-through novel might come from nothing
more than a silly thought—C. L. Collar, author of The McCory Chronicles: Katie McCory and the Dagger of Truth.

My advice is to always have fun writing. The minute that it feels like
it is “work” is when an author has to review his/her purpose. Writing is
all about expressing oneself and sharing thoughts with the world—Stephanie Dikey, author of The Adventures of Phoenix and Tucson: The Great Rescue.

Follow your dream and share your story with the world! I know writers
with great ideas, but they never find their stories are good enough for
publishing and keep correcting them, never finalizing. I think that, as
an author, there is a point when you should stop and listen to your
heart to see if the story really needs more tweaking, or if it is just
your ego with its perfectionism trying to talk you out of it—Thereza Howling, author of Rainforest Adventure.

And Now,

Welcome to the 62nd Kid Lit BlogHop where we continue to develop a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists.

Also, you are always more than welcome to join us by popping in a post and hopping around to meet some of your fellow Kid Lit bloggers and authors!
This week, we are excited to be including a FacebookLinky Party to be held in conjunction with the Kid Lit Blog Hop. These linky parties are designed to give you the opportunity to connect with and grow your network of fellow kid lit bloggers, authors, and parents through your various social media platforms.
*** Please note that we will only be hosting 1 Kid Lit Blog Hop during the months of July and August. These will take place on the 3rd Wednesday of each month (July 15 and August 19).

Hostesses:

Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!

Kid Lit Blog Hop & Linky Party Rules *Please Read*

1. LINKY PARTY:Add the link to your Facebook fan page in the Facebook Linky Party list below. Be sure to visit at least the two links directly before yours as well as your hosts' Facebook pages. Be sure to follow some folks with similar interests and like & share posts that catch your eye. If you do not have a Facebook profile, you are welcome to link up a different social media profile (Pinterest, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, etc.).
2. KID LIT BLOG HOP:Link up any Kid Lit related post in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.

* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post.*

* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one. Please link unique posts each time ~ no repeats please. *

* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*

* Feel free to link more than one post.*

3. KID LIT BLOG HOP:Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS from the Kid Lit Blog Hop directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment.We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you!
4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links!
5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!

Happy Hopping!

FACEBOOK LINKY PARTY

(***Please do not link a blog post here - see below for the Kid Lit Blog Hop***)

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes Rebecca Lindsey, a children's author who is also a book illustrator as well as an elementary school teacher. Rebecca's going to share how she does both.

First, a bit about Rebecca:

I am a children's book writer/illustrator with Beau Coup Publishing and a full time elementary school teacher. I live in West Virginia with my husband and two cats who play an important role in my books.

Why did you pick to write books for children?

I've always loved to draw and paint and with children's books. I get to illustrate my own books which is something I've always wanted to be able to accomplish.

For all those budding artists out there, how did you get started illustrating books?

I never thought I would ever have a children's book out in the world. I wrote my first book for a contest but never won. A couple years later, I met an author who was looking into opening up her own publishing company and was looking for other authors. She and I talked, and I showed her my work and before I knew it, I had a publishing contract. It was just a freak time where I was in the right place at the right time.

Which medium do you prefer to work with: pen, pencil, chalk, pastel, oil, and why?

I love to use a combination of all different types of mediums when I create a drawing. I always use pencil to sketch out my drawing and then add a mixture of acrylic, chalk and oil pastels. I love acrylics because they easily blend together. Chalk and pastels allow to me add different shading to my image and the pastels are easily blended in. My illustrations however are created all digitally. I have a drawing tablet and I use a drawing program called Corel Painter X3. I still prefer to use acrylic, pastels and chalk but I love adding watercolor and using all the tools that are available.

What types of books do you like to read?

Romantic Suspense and Contemporary Romance are my two favorite genres, but while working at Beau Coup, I've been introduced to so many wonderful authors and their writing talents. So now I can add Fantasy Adventure, Science Fiction, and Paranormal Romance to my list.When you are not writing/illustrating, what do you like to do?

I love to draw and paint any chance I get. When I get time, I really want to learn some new techniques and branch out to new mediums and tools. I love music and enjoy singing right along with the artist, although I don't think my cats like me singing as much as I do. I am an avid reader and read many different genres. My husband and I enjoy being outdoors any chance we get. Explain for readers the importance of collaboration between authors and illustrators.

I have illustrated three of my own books, and currently I'm working on my very first illustrating job with another author. Collaboration is so important because when the author wrote this book, they may have a specific way it looked in their minds which could be totally different from the image I get when I read it. It's important to try to get the images to represent what the author wanted and, if there is another way, then a decision can be made later about which way looks best.

How important is it for illustrators to read the manuscript first?

For me, I wouldn't be able to create the images without reading the manuscript first. In fact, I go back throughout the story several times when creating the illustrations. It's important to match the image to represent what is going on in that story to help make it come to life.

Once you & the author have decided on how the illustration should look, describe the creation process of one illustration.

I will often create three or more drawings for one illustration before I choose the one I like the best. I find myself adding things or changing colors, backgrounds, etc. Then I will send them to the author or friends of mine who I trust to give me their feedback.Tell us about World of Color & Imagination Destination, the illustrations you've shared, & how the stories came to be.

The tiger illustration is from my book World of Color and the pirate illustration is out of my book Imagination Destination. Both drawings were created digitally, and I used a combination of mediums: acrylic, watercolor and pencil.

For World of Color, I want my readers to recognize that our world is full of beauty. That's what makes us different, and it's okay to be different. If everything and everybody were the same, our world would not be as wonderful as it is.

For Imagination Destination, I want to inspire my readers to want to get up, go outside, and use their imagination to create their very own world. The possibilities are endless as to where they could go.

Have you written/illustrated other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

Bullies? No Worries! was just released in May 2015. Currently, I'm working on the illustrations for another author's children book which is coming along nicely.

Besides book illustrations, what other types of art do you create?

I enjoy painting on slate rock. I've also been getting into canvas lately. However, I don't have a lot of extra free time to paint as much as I would like to. I would love to take an art class and experiment with different paints and techniques.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to pursue a career in illustrating books?

I am new to this part of my life. I'm learning as I go, but I've been told by many that joining an organization such as the SCBWB (Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators) can be a very beneficial and worth the money. I plan on joining this year. Also, if this is something you truly love doing, then don't give up even when things are not working out like you hoped. If you are able to get your artwork out in the world and are proud of what you accomplished, that's all that matters.What advice do you have for other authors?

If it is something you really want to do, then never give up. Don't listen to yourself and give up when things look down. Don't listen to the ones who say it's not worth your time. If you have a story to tell, then tell it. If you're happy with it, that's all that matters.Anything else you want readers to know?

I hope you find my stories fun, silly, entertaining but yet with a great message. I feel privileged to have been given the chance to share my stories with you. I am so very grateful for you, the reader, because it's you that helps inspire me to keep writing and illustrating.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes fantasy author P. S. Mokha. He writes the MG series The Last Sanctuary. He also likes one of my favorite authors Ken Follett.

Here's a bit about P. S.:

I’m P.S. Mokha, not a post-script reminder to refill with coffee, but an author of fantasy novels whose initials happen to be P.S.

Hailing from unspectacular roots, I wasn’t raised by wolves, nor were my parents members of religion-worshipping otters.

Conversely, my professional life has been ridiculously exciting. I initially qualified as a chartered accountant, and now I’m assistant principal at a high school. Everyone knows how enigmatic accountants and teachers are, so writing really interesting stuff was a natural progression.

Why did you pick to write books for MG?

Each of my daughters have been fascinated by magic, fairies, and their ilk since before they could form words. Now that my eldest is a discerning reader and prodigious writer, I have to ensure my work is more compelling than the competition to keep in her good graces.

I am particularly refreshed by hiding in bushes and imitating exotic birds that only exist miles from said bush.

I also play football, jog regularly, and ferry my kids from various activities that include gymnastics, ju jitsu, and piano lessons.

Tell us about The Last Sanctuary and how the story came to be.

The Last Sanctuary is a traditional fairytale peppered with humour and modern twists. The
story evolved from a desire to tap into traditional mythology and bring it to a modern setting with a fresh voice I’d yet to hear from today’s mainstream literature.

Here's a peek at The Last Sanctuary:

Lily is devastated when her sick grandpa reveals she must leave the small home they share. The next day, a confused Lily awakes in the London Bridge Orphanage surrounded by danger. With the help of her two roommates, she stumbles upon the ancient world of Ammasaya and a prophecy with catastrophic consequences: three will arrive, one to give, one to die, and one to live. But which part of the prophecy relates to Lily and which to her roommates? As enchanting as it is deadly, Ammasaya is a place where Lily must battle savage witches, devious goblins, and deadly Death Legions to discover secrets of her past that offer clues to her prophesised future. Life at school is no safer with menacing teachers burying secrets with unfathomable consequences.

The Blood Empress lurks in the shadows as her goal of destroying the orphanage draws near. Surrounded by riddles and lies, who can Lily trust?

Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

Book two in The Last Sanctuary series is out now (The Fall of Refuge). All my friends say it’s really good and so does my mum.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

Book three in The Last Sanctuary series is entitled The Wrath of Winter, and I must say, I’m terribly excited about ratcheting up the tension and humour to another level.

What advice do you have for other authors?

Enjoy yourselves, life is too short to stress about writing, or anything for that matter.

Other than that, keep reading, believe in yourself, and never give up.Anything else you want readers to know?

Leonardo da Vinci could draw with one hand and write with the other at the same time.

I can write with one hand and draw conclusions at the same time, thereby leaving one hand in a constant state of readiness in case the phone rings or an ear becomes itchy.

And finally, a big thank you to Cheryl Carpinello for allowing me to share my thoughts with the world.

Where can readers find you and your books?

I exist in the wonderful land of New Zealand, where I live with my family and countless animals on a small farmlet.

My book is on Amazon for the princely sum of $1, and also on Smashwords, Goodreads, and most online retailers.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Carpinello's Writing Pages has finally had to cry "Uncle." Since the middle of April, I have come out of retirement to work as a part-time Customer Service Agent for US Airways, soon to be known as the New American. In that time, I have been juggling a brutal work schedule, rewrites of Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend—Cedwyn's Story, posting author interviews along with the Kid Lit Blog Hop, and hoping for time to spend with my hubby.

This week I am in Phoenix for my 2nd week of full time training—I have one more week to do in June. Each day here starts with a test where scoring below 85% will get you sent home and fired. In between the weeks in Phoenix, I have been putting in a 40-hour work week. All total, I must do six weeks of training/OJT full-time.

Now I'm not complaining—after all, I love to travel—but I am just running out of steam. And this week in Phoenix, the temperature is running 105+. So in lieu of posting writing tips—which take a while to pull together—I have bowed the pressure. However, the author interviews lined up this Hop are fabulous. Be sure to visit them.

And now,

Welcome to the 61st Kid Lit BlogHop where we continue to develop a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists.

You are always more than welcome to join us by popping in a post and hopping around to meet some of your fellow Kid Lit bloggers and authors!

This week, we are excited to be including a Google+Linky Party to be held in conjunction with the Kid Lit Blog Hop. These linky parties are designed to give you the opportunity to connect with and grow your network of fellow kid lit bloggers, authors, and parents through your various social media platforms.

Hostesses:

Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!

Kid Lit Blog Hop & Linky Party Rules *Please Read*

1. LINKY PARTY:Add the link to your Google+ profile page in the Google+ Linky Party list below. Be sure to visit at least the two links directly before yours as well as your hosts' Google+ pages. Be sure to follow some folks with similar interests and share posts that catch your eye. If you do not have a Google+ profile, you are welcome to link up a different social media profile (Pinterest, Facebook, etc.).

2. KID LIT BLOG HOP:Link up any Kid Lit related post in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.

* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post.*

* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one. Please link unique posts each time ~ no repeats please. *

* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*

* Feel free to link more than one post.*

3. KID LIT BLOG HOP:Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS from the Kid Lit Blog Hop directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment.We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you!

4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links!

5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!

Happy Hopping!

GOOGLE+ LINKY PARTY

(***Please do not link a blog post here - see below for the Kid Lit Blog Hop***)

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes U.K. fantasy writer Dan Davis. I first met Dan when I ran across his blog post on how he writes in his head. Since I do a lot of this, I did some exploring of his posts and site and found a new friend and colleague!

First, a bit about Dan:

I was born in Birmingham in England 30-odd years ago, but moved down south to the county of Essex when I was very young. My first career after university was working in the financial industry in the City of London. After a long break traveling in Europe, I changed careers to work in local government. I live in north Essex with my wife and our young daughter.Why did you pick to write books for Middle Grade readers?

Although I have always loved reading books for young people, I had mostly written stories for adults. However, every now and then I have written stories for family members for birthday or Christmas presents (I'm cheap like that!), and a few years ago I wrote a story for my nephew's eighth birthday, had it printed and bound, handed it over and forgot about it for a few years until I started uploading some short stories to my blog. When I read this story again, I saw how much potential it had and turned it into a novel - the first of a new series. So I find myself writing for young people without ever really setting out to, but I have to say it is the very best thing that could have happened. The age group is perfect because I love writing books with straightforward prose, lots of story and fun and funny characters. I have never enjoyed writing more than I am now.

What types of books do you like to read?

I love fantasy, science fiction and historical fiction. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the series I am writing now has elements of all three genres. Some of my favorite books for young people are Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, Robert Heinlein's early juvenile stories and Gary Paulsen's Hatchet series. In fact, Hatchet is almost certainly the book that has had the greatest impact on my life. Reading it for the first time as an eight-year-old was the most wonderful epiphany.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

I spend time with my family. I love just hanging out with my daughter, and we all go for walks by the river or in the woods as often as we can. I like to cook and when I do, I also listen to lectures on a wide range of subjects especially history, astronomy and biology. And I used to love playing video games, painting and growing vegetables, but sadly there are only so many hours in a day!

Tell us about White Wind Rising and how the story came to be.The book is part one in a coming-of-age fantasy series called Gunpowder and Alchemy and set in an alternative history: 17th Century Civil War England with magic and dragons and steam engines. My heroes are four young people and a little dragon who discover they have incredible powers they will eventually use to shape grand historical events and also their own futures.

I wrote the book in somewhat of a frenzy. What is now the first third of the novel was initially a complete short story, and my intention was to tidy it up quickly, knock out a few more very short stories, and release them as a collection to tell the overarching tale. But instead, I was overwhelmed with inspiration, and I survived on little sleep for weeks on end to get the whole book written, edited and released in record time. It was a very powerful and unexpected experience. I have been writing for many years now and have never had that kind of intensity take hold before.

Here's a peek at White Wind Rising:

Archer simply wanted to ask the Alchemist for a little more food for his family this winter. For his troubles he is thrown into prison and must escape from the Alchemist’s Tower armed with nothing more than his bow and his wits.

As he does so, he discovers he is not the only captive in the tower and gathers to him a band of unlikely heroes in the form of Writer, Weaver, Keeper and Burp. Only by using the skills of each can they take flight in a dragon balloon and quest home from deep within the Moon Forest.

During their travels they are shocked to discover that the Alchemist has dominated their home, the Vale, for a thousand years conducting experiments on their families and keeping them isolated from the world. But for what purpose? And what is this unknown place called England that lies outside the Vale?

Join them in their journey as they each learn to bend the very elements to their will and discover that together they can become more powerful than they could have imagined.Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

I have written two other full length novels that I have yet to publish. One is a coming of age historical fantasy, and the other is a contemporary thriller for adults that I am taking a break from before editing. I have lots of short stories that I would love to release as a collection or two.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

I am almost done with the first draft of Gunpowder and Alchemy Book 2. I expect to release it later in 2015. There will be four books in this series, one for each of my four characters and based around the four classical elements. Book 1 focused on Archer and the element of air. Book 2 is water, featuring as lead a girl called Writer who has to chose between learning magic and developing her ability to control water. But first she has to escape from the Witchfinder General, rescue her friend and his dragon from Colchester Castle, and decide whether the ancient alchemist Cedd really can be trusted before doing battle with the Roundheads and their new superweapon – the landship.

The scope for this one is much larger than in Book 1, and there are many more characters and tons of plot. In fact, each book in the series pulls back further to reveal more of the story and context of this alternate history. For example, Book 3 will feature Oliver Cromwell, the New Model Army and Civil War London, and by the end of Book 4, we will have swooped over the entire British Isles. So I have been doing an awful lot of research into the time period, historical characters, alchemy, technology and witchcraft. Taking all of that and molding it into this series is both hugely challenging and immensely rewarding.

What advice do you have for other authors?There are so many wonderful resources for authors to be found online. I am amazed by the generosity of authors who share their learning and experiences and I heartily suggest reading as much of it as you feel you need to. But always remember you have to find your own way. The right thing for you is whatever works – for you. So try out different things, see what feels right, see what doesn't, and make sure that you always trust yourself.

Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend

Author Shout

Historical Novel Society

Find Me on Authors Den

About Me

I’m a retired high school English teacher. A devourer of books growing up, my profession introduced me to writings and authors from times long past. Through my studies and teaching, I fell in love with the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Now, I hope to inspire young readers and those Young-at-Heart to read more through my Tales and Legends for Reluctant Readers set in these worlds.
I also conduct Medieval Writing Workshops for local elementary/middle schools.